Sports

I don't see any succession plan in place after me: Gopichand

Wed, 13 Nov 2019

Mumbai, Nov 13

Indian badminton does not have a replacement for head national coach Pullela Gopichand and that is why he is still with them.

"The reason why I continue to coach and I am obsessed about it is also because I haven't had...I don't see the succession plan come by so easily, it has been tough," Gopichand said here on Wednesday on the sidelines of an event.

"I wish, now... to be honest, I feel it like a burden and a responsibility, I can't let go the kind of (performance) we have achieved and the players need me and that becomes a burden internally," he said.

Gopichand added that he never intends to put pressure on his wards during matches and that is the reason why he sits quietly behind them not getting animated at all.

"When I am sitting behind the player, I consciously think that my pressure should not add to the player's pressure, he is already in a pressure cooker, so you don't want to add a little more to that pressure," he said.

He also stressed on the need for coach education so that the sport has more options.

"So in the last few years, I was silently talking to people, in the last few months I have been talking to the press a little loudly about the need for coach education, need for coaches to be empowered and a system to be in place. It is my selfish desire to rest and relax," he added.

I don't see any succession plan in place after me: Gopichand

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